


Mi Tesoro

by SpaceBitch



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Canon Continuation, Fluff, M/M, let me live, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-05-29 05:04:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6360661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceBitch/pseuds/SpaceBitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico deserves to be happy, okay? Let him and Will fall in love and be happy</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter with the doctor's office may seem a bit like a solangelo cliche but that's where the book takes off from ok we have to start there  
> How, in my mind, they fall in love. Not in days or in years, but juuust right

Nico walked back to the infirmary with Will. His demeanor appeared just as careless and effortless as ever, but inside he was surprisingly nerve wracked--his stomach felt like it was pumped with helium and his palms were a little sweaty.

Will led Nico into a partitioned section on the second floor, and said, "Okay, so we'll start with a checkup to see how you're doing. Take your shirt off."

 

Nico felt a flash of panic. "What? Why?"

 

Will turned around, a stethoscope in his ears, and raised the little knob. "So I can check your heart?"

 

Nico didn't move. "Why would you even need to do that? It's not like I have high cholesterol."

 

Will looked at Nico for a bit, eyebrows slightly raised, before finally saying, "Fine. It doesn't matter, I'll just go under the shirt."

 

Nico wanted to protest, but couldn't think of a logical argument, so he held his tongue.

 

Will walked up and began to slide it up Nico's stomach, but he flinched at the cold metal.

 

"Sorry." He breathed on the metal and rubbed it in his hands a bit. "It'll be cold."

 

He slid the disc up the Nico's stomach to his chest, and asked him to breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Nico really hoped his heart wasn't beating _too_  fast. And if his breaths were a little ragged, hopefully Will would just attribute that to his condition.

 

Will got a puzzled look on his face. He dropped the stethoscope, and just straight up put his hand on Nico's chest. Before Nico could question him, the son of Apollo reached down and grabbed Nico's hand, sliding his fingers down just to the tips. He held that position for a moment, focusing. Nico was in confused shock.

 

He dropped his hand from Nico's chest, and placed it on his forehead instead, still touching Nico's fingers.

 

Finally, Nico said, "Um. What are you doing?"

 

Will let go and pulled out the stethoscope. "Well, it seems like your fingers and extremities are fading the fastest, but your heart and mind are the most solid, the least... uh... _enveloped_ in darkness. I think that'll be the key to bringing you back. Your substance, I mean."

 

Nico nodded. That made sense.

 

"This means you have to be around people you love and try not to let your brain get bored, lest you, you know... _slip_."

 

"My brain..."

 

"I know!" Will exclaimed, "you could help out around here. I mean, bed rest for two days, the battle totally depleted you, but then you can be my nurse. I mean, what better exercise for the heart and mind than--"

 

"Nurse?" Nico spluttered. He couldn't think of a job he was more ill-suited for.

 

Will leveled a stare, inches from Nico. Did all doctors have this total disregard for personal space?

 

"Is that a problem?"

 

Somehow, the son of Death found his mouth saying, "No."

 

They stared at each other for a moment.

 

"Great!" He clapped Nico on the shoulder, who's knees buckled. It wasn't a testament to Will's strength so much as Nico's weakness.

 

Concern flooded Will's eyes. "Oh, you should rest."

 

"It's not even dark out," he protested.

 

"Well, I'm not really sure your body can tell the difference anymore," Will said gently, guiding him to the cot. He was totally manhandling Nico, but somehow he didn't mind. It was probably his imagination, but it almost seemed like wherever he touched Nico, a little of the darkness left.


	2. Chapter 2

When Nico next woke up, it was noon the next day. He'd slept for pretty close to 24 hours.

Will was not in the room when he woke up, but within the amount of time it took Nico to wonder if he should get up and tell someone he was up, or just wait, Will burst through the door.

"Morning, Sunshine," he said, seemingly surprised to see Nico awake. "You clearly needed your beauty sleep."

Nico blinked at the son of Apollo, trying to let his eyes adjust. "Yeah, I guess," he grumbled.

"So, how do you feel?" Nico scooted himself to a sitting position as Will sat at the foot of his bed.

"Um. Like I just slept for 24 hours? I don't know."

Then it hit him. "I don't remember my dreams."

"Really? That's quite common, although probably less so for demigods--"

"No, but I _always_  remember my dreams. And especially lately, they've all been--" 

Nico cut himself off, not wanting to overshare. "Nightmares," Will finished softly. "Also common among demigods. Well, why do you think today was different?"

Nico had a weird suspicion, but he didn't know how (or want) to articulate it. All he knew was that the sun demigod seemed to radiate light, but not _sun_ light. He oozed light the way Nico oozed darkness, and it wasn't the kind of light that made Nico feel less solid. It was a kind that... seemed to fill everything it touched.

"I don't know," he said. "I mean, I have fuel for a million nightmares, but maybe it's because the war's over?"

"Maybe," Will said, looking at Nico like he knew Nico didn't believe what he was saying either.

"So! We should get some visitors for you, yeah? I've already got the first one all lined up."

"Wha--visitor? Who?"

Will opened partition with all the flair of a magician's assistant.

_Oh shist._

"Ta-Da!" Will said, framing a nervous-looking Percy Jackson.

"Hey," Percy said.

Nico swung his legs out from the covers. "Um. Hey." There was an awkward moment before Nico said pointedly, "Will?"

"Oh right, oh right. I'll let you guys talk."

 

•     •     •     •     •

 

Percy sauntered out a half an hour later with a grin on his face, and Nico had to admit he was glad Percy had stopped by.

Percy had, as per Percy's M.O., broken the tension with stupid jokes. After that, Nico and Percy could really _talk_  like they never had before. They talked about the Lotus Hotel and the Labyrinth and Annabeth (Nico actually laughed when Percy said he used to think Nico had a crush on Annabeth. Like. Out loud.) and Hazel and Bianca and just about the inexperienced idiots they'd been when they first met. When Percy left, Nico had the distinct impression he'd never really known Percy all that well before, but that Percy had almost definitely known Nico even less.

Will pulled back the curtain while saying, "Knock knock?" which Nico thought was pointless. He was practically already inside.

"Yeah. Come in."

Will reclined on some uncomfy-looking fold up chair, looking perfectly at ease. "So, what'd you and Percy talk about?"

Nico was staring pensively at the curtain through which Percy had just left. "Oh, everything."

Will's eyes followed Nico's. "You know, I used to have a crush on Percy," he murmured thoughtfully.

"What?" Nico choked. If he'd been drinking water, he would've definitely done a spit-take.

"Yeah."

"Well--I mean, when--like--"

"When did I get over it?" he supplemented. Nico nodded. "When I healed Annabeth at the Battle of Manhattan. It was obvious what was going on there, and I don't know... Percy and Annabeth are so _good_ , you know? It was hard to like him when I couldn't actually see him with anyone but her."

Nico nodded. There was a deep, intense internal struggle for about 20 seconds before Nico blurted, "I used to have a crush on Percy too."

Will looked surprised, then he laughed. "Didn't we all? He was so... _godly_. Maybe a little too godly. I don't think any of us actually saw him as a person, you know? When did you get over it?"

Nico was suddenly riveted by his sheets' thread count. "Pretty recently, actually." He glanced back at the curtain again. "But you're right. It was infatuation... more idolatry, really."

Will nodded, and then he strolled around to lean on the footboard of Nico's bed (cot). "Well. Is there anything I can get you?"

Nico stood. "Not that this cot--I mean bed--isn't beyond comfy, but would you mind if I went for a little walk? Got some fresh air?"

Will grinned. Nico was suddenly reminded of Apollo's blazingly brilliant smile. But Will's smile didn't evoke quite the same feeling of being assaulted. It was more like a soft beam of sunshine.

Nico cleared his throat. Why was he thinking about that? The son of Apollo opened the curtain. "Lead the way."

"No, I meant more--"

"Alone? Yeah, that's not happening. You can survive three days without retreating into a reclusive broody cloud. I'm not about to let you wander into the forest and vanish into the trees."

"Will, that won't--"

"It could," he said seriously. "I'm not sure you fully comprehend how miraculous it is that you are still alive. Still here." He stood. "Which means, despite all your protestations to the contrary, you want to be here. You fought to live, damn hard. That's not going to be for nothing, not on my watch."

Nico sighed. "Don't you have other patients to attend to? I mean, we did just fight a war."

"Healers have to take breaks too," he said cheerily. "What better way to spend it than in nature?"

Nico rolled his eyes, resigned, and let Will help him off the cot. When they were standing, Will looked at Nico's hand thoughtfully. "Well. You're definitely making progress. I think Percy helped."

"Yeah," Nico said, not really knowing what he was saying at all. Will dragged him out the door, through the infirmary, past all the injured campers and children of Apollo and volunteers.

"C'mon. I have the _best_ trail."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think everyone and their mother had a crush on Percy and he was 100% oblivious


	3. Chapter 3

 

Okay, Nico was almost sure he wasn't imagining it. Whenever he was near Will, he felt much more solid. He wasn't sure if it was a son of Apollo thing or what, because he hadn't noticed it with any of the other healers. He probably should have mentioned it, because Will demanded to know absolutely everything about his condition, but he couldn't articulate it, and even the thought of mentioning it to Will was enough to make him uncomfortable.

They fell into a comfortable, quiet pace beside one another. Nico had never been one for nature, but Will's path was beautiful. Even though it was past midday, the sun still glistened off the permanent dew on the grass and bushes and trees.

Nico would've been happy to walk in silence, but Will was the type of person who always looked to fill a silence. Who always felt something could be said.

"So Nico," he said, "I heard you were born in Italy."

"Um, yeah." He cleared his throat. "In the 1930s."

"That's so wild," Will said quietly. "And you didn't notice?"

He shrugged. "We were young. There was the 30s, the hotel, and then... now. The hotel really messes with your head. It _feels_ like weeks, but... it's not. My memory of Italy was affected. It's not as clear as it should be."

"So you speak Italian?"

"Yeah."

"Say something."

"Like what?"

"Like..." he thought. "How do you say 'healer' in Italian?"

He pondered for a split second before blurting, " _Tesoro_."

It was out before he could take it back. It was impulsive. He wanted to mess with Will a little bit, but _tesoro_ , of all words? He supposed 'fuckface' would have been funnier, but considering he'd moved from Italy as a small child, no one had ever taught him how to say many bad words.

" _Tesoro_. I'm a _tesoro_."

Nico didn't know whether to laugh or hide in embarassment. Will, of course, had no clue what he was saying, but Nico did. His mother and sister had both called him their  _tesoro_ , their treasure, their sweetheart. Now Will was saying he was a _treasure_.

Nico forced himself to school his expression. He would give nothing away, especially because that would mean having to explain himself, which was obviously not an option. "Yes, you're my _tesoro_." The words felt foreign. They _sounded_ familiar, but he'd never used them. Not even with Bianca, really; it was her nickname for him.

"I like the way that sounds. It's a beautiful language."

" _Grazie_."

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

By the third day, Nico was bored out of his mind.

Will sometimes brought in bandages, and he started teaching Nico how to do them properly. He was downright amazed that Nico had never learned before, since he deemed it a necessary skill for all demigods above a 5 on the _likely-to-get-seriously-injured_ scale.

Nico was, apparently, an 8.

He didn't know whether to be offended at how low or high the number was. Part of him felt that he at least deserved to be a 9, but Will said, "Not when there are demigods like Percy around."

That seemed like a fair point.

Will spoke while he wrapped Nico's hand. "Here's the thing; yeah, you're really powerful and likely to get sucked into dangerous situations, but you have enough sense (for the most part) not to jump into stupid situations or piss off people. I mean, when Percy was _12_ , for Christ's sake, he piggy-back rode a _Minotaur_. And even then, he's only a 9. We save 10s for demigods that have actually been cursed, or Hercules."

Apparently, this scale was commonly known among Apollo kids. Typically, Demeter and Aphrodite kids were low on the scale, Athena kids were somewhere in the middle, and Ares and Big Three kids were high. When Will said there was a literal chart of kids and their respective numbers, Nico laughed. He'd gotten more used to that.

Will smiled at him. "I like when you laugh. Sometimes I feel like you forget that you're still a kid, you know, and you're allowed to have fun."

Nico smiled. "Thanks, _tesoro_." He was almost used to calling Will that now. He only did it at all because -

There. Will beamed at him. "For what?"

"For making me laugh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is the tesoro thing way overused? hmmmmm too bad its great


	4. Chapter 4

For the next week, Nico helped out in the infirmary a lot. Thanks to ambrosia and accelerated demigod healing, by that time most of the kids injured in the war had been healed, so it was mostly Will checking on approximately one kid every half hour, and Nico and Will dicking around together the rest of the time. When there was really nothing to do, sometimes Cecil or Lou Ellen or another Apollo kid would insist that they spend some time outside, do some camp activities. The truth was, Nico volunteering in the infirmary was just an excuse for Will and Nico to hang out, resulting in both of them spending way too much time in the infirmary, and the rest of the Apollo cabin and any injured kid in a 20-foot radius of them rolling their eyes, wondering when they were just going to get on with it.

 

During that time, Nico had gotten more comfortable with Will touching him, since he had to do it regularly to assess Nico’s shadow-situation anyway. However, the real development was Nico occasionally going out of his way to touch Will, a habit that started while he was still recovering. Whenever he touched Will, he felt more anchored, like a part of him came back every time. Once the foundation of trust had been established, Nico couldn’t seem to make himself stop bumping Will’s shoulder or brushing his arm. He doubted Will noticed, but every contact was a big deal to Nico.

 

One morning, Will stopped by Nico’s cabin to wake him up for their shift (nature never woke Nico up before noon), but Nico was already up. He let Will in and went back to his dresser, rifling around for clean socks.

 

While Will waited, Nico made a split second decision, and stood. “Will? I just wanted to thank you, for going out of your way to make sure I was okay. People don’t usually do that for me, and I really appreciate it. I… I didn’t tell you this, but I think you, specifically, really helped. It was like, even before we were good friends, being around you made me more solid. Something to do with your light, or healing powers, I don’t know. I’m just not sure if I could have done it without you.”

 

“You could have,” Will said instinctually. “You were built to survive. But,” he added, “I appreciate the thanks, even if they’re not necessary.”

 

Nico smiled disarmingly, and turned back to his dresser.

 

“Although if you wanted to go out with me, you could have just asked, _treasure_.”

 

Nico froze.

 

“Yeah, I found an English-Italian dictionary on Chiron’s bookshelf. Although I don’t know why you didn’t call me _asstown_ or something. _Treasure_ is like, unbearably sweet.”

 

“I learned Italian when I was 7, I don’t even know how to say _asstown_.” Nico said, instinctively defensive.

 

“So you went for _treasure._ ”

 

Nico finally turned around, but he was speaking to the Hades cabin gaudy carpet rather than Will. “It means sweetheart.”

 

“What?”

 

“ _Tesoro._ The direct translation is treasure, but in English, it’s actually closer to sweetheart.”

 

Will stepped closer. “My point still stands, _sweetheart._ If you wanted to go out with me, you could have asked.”

 

Nico watched the mischievous look in Will’s eyes for a long moment. “I’ve never been great with words.”

 

With that, he stepped forward, grabbing Will’s jacket, stopping his mouth just an inch from Will’s, waiting. Will readily pressed his lips to Nico’s, grasping at his hips, hooking his fingers around Nico’s belt loops and pulling his hips flesh against Will’s.

 

Nico broke away, hovering just an inch from Will’s face.

 

“You know, I’m thinking maybe we should take a sick day,” Nico whispered, a smile creeping into his tone, that uncontrollable kind of smile that was so rare for him, which Will returned in kind.

 

“Yeah,” Will nodded. “Sick day, sick week…”

 

Nico voiced his enthusiasm with that idea by running his fingers through Will’s hair and kissing him again, and again, and again…

 

“ _Mi tesoro_ ,” he whispered fondly against Will’s lips, testing it out. If Will’s response was any indication, he liked the pet name too.

**Author's Note:**

> woo! leave kudos/comment what you liked and/or think I should fix :)


End file.
